Rizoma/CR&S DUU Custom

Rizoma/CR&S DUU Custom

When Rizoma needed somebody to build a custom bike to show off its array of Italian moto jewelry, it didn’t need to venture far from its headquarters in Ferno, Italy. CR&S Motorcycles, builders of one of the most seriously cool framers we’ve seen in a long time, is located in the heart of Milano, home of the world’s biggest motorcycle show and just down the road from Rizoma.

CR&S started with a big chunk of round stainless-steel tubing 4.23 inches in diameter, which was bent and TIG-welded to the steering head and rear crossmember. It cradles a 117-cubic-inch S&S X-Wedge V-Twin, and while it’s busy doing that, it also holds 4.1 gallons of fuel. Another length of not-quite-so-large stainless (3.54 in.) was bent and reinforced to form the single-sided swingarm. Machined aluminum sideplates carry footpegs, rear-suspension pickup and aluminum subframe. This forms the foundation for a purposeful, serious-looking V-Twin custom you’d actually like to take for a spin. That’s just the effect CR&S was after, a motorcycle that combines Italian sport with American muscle. The specs say this hog will even lean 43 degrees.

There’s no skimping on the big fork, 320mm brake discs or Brembo calipers, or on the 3.5- and 6-inch custom wheels. From there, CR&S added a bare minimum of carbon-fiber and plastic bodywork, a place to sit atop the patented alloy box structure that contains the fuel pump, battery and ECU; a biposto version also is available. The end result is the DUU, a 540-pound bike stretched over a 62-in. wheelbase motored along by 109 foot-pounds of peak torque at 4300 rpm, most of which is already poking at just 2500 rpm.

Can you afford one? Well, as customs go (as customs used to go, anyway), 19,000 Euro ($25,850) for a monoposto five-speed or €21,600 ($29,400) for a biposto 6-speed seems not so outrageous at all for this kind of thing compared to, say, $70K or whatever for something like a Confederate. Especially if you can ride it. In Milan's ancient maze of terminally congested streets, riding any sort of big cruiser might not be so much fun. This one, though, looks like it would be a hoot.

Oh, did I forget to mention the Rizoma stuff? It’s all over the bike and so nicely done that it’s hard to tell where CR&S leaves off and Rizoma begins. Mirrors, master cylinders, teeny turnsignals, shift light, bar levers, front brake guard, footpegs and other pieces too numerous to mention. The Italians are good at motorcycles.